Natasha Barrett - Biography

Natasha Barrett began working seriously with electroacoustic composition during a master's degree in analysis and electroacoustic composition, studying under Jonty Harrison. This study gave her the opportunity to work with BEAST (Birmingham Electroacoustic Sound Theatre), and has greatly influenced her current work. In 1998 she was awarded a doctoral degree in composition, supervised by Denis Smalley. Both degrees were funded by the Humanities section of the British Academy. In the same year, a grant from the research council of Norway enabled her to work as a resident composer at NoTAM, Oslo (Norwegian network for Technology, Acoustics and Music). Afterwards, she worked for one year as a senior lecturer at the music conservatory in Tromsø, Norway. She is now a freelance composer and teacher, based in Oslo.

Her compositional output consists of works for instruments and live electronics, sound installations, dance, theatre, and animation projects, but all activity is rooted in her work with acousmatic tape composition, which features most strongly amongst her creations.

Her work has received many awards, including Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria 1998), Noroit-Leonce Petitot (Arras, France 1998 & 2002), first prize in the Trivium section of the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (France 1998, 2001, and a mention in the same competition in 1995), Concours Scrime, (France 2000), International Electroacoustic Creation Competition of Ciberart (Italy 2000), Concours Luigi Russolo (Italy 1995 and 1998), and selection in the IREM 2002. She has received commissions from institutions and performers in throughout the world, and her work is available on numerous CD labels, including empreintes DIGITALes, Cultures electroniques/Mnemosyne Musique Media, CDCM/Centaur, and two privately produced solo CD productions.